Bisphenol A (BPA) has formally been declared a toxic substance by the Canadian federal government, who added it to Canada's toxic substances list on Wednesday.
"We are continuing our leadership on this issue and Canadians can rest assured that we are working hard to monitor and manage bisphenol A," Environment Minister Jim Prentice said in a statement. BPA, found in resins that coat the interior of food cans to prevent corrosion, has been shown to mimic the hormone estrogen and does not occur naturally in the environment.
In August, Statistics Canada reported that measurable levels of BPA were found in the urine of 91 per cent of Canadians aged six to 79.
"Health Canada considers that sufficient evidence relating to human health has been presented to justify the conclusion that bisphenol A is harmful to human life and should be added to Schedule 1 of [the Canadian Environmental Protection Act]," the federal government reported in the Canada Gazette.
The government said the listing allows it to develop regulations to manage the risks posed by the chemical.
In 2008, Canada proposed declaring BPA toxic because of reproductive and developmental toxicity and environmental effects. The federal government proposed that BPA be banned in baby bottles and limited in infant formula cans. But BPA was not added to the toxic substances list at that time.
Source: CBC News/Canada
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